Work Text:
Part 2
Shouta didn’t know what to think of those new Vigilantes. Sure, they were quick and effective, apprehending criminals in a blink of an eye – they mostly fought Quirkless, meaning that police had quite a headache to bring them in. At first Lucid and Dream worked separately but suddenly they became a duo and a powerful one at that.
He encountered them together on one windy, cold night not long after New Year’s Eve. Lucid was in the back with a baseball glowing bat in one hand along with frozen water droplets around him and Dream in the front with unsheathed shining in the moonlight katana. They just finished up prehending a small drug ring – the criminals were knocked out unconscious, their hands tied with a rope and silver tape.
Aizawa jumped down with the help of his old reliable capture scarf and faced them. He cursed inside – they didn’t have any recognizable features that would distinguish them and help the police to uncover their identities. Dream looked him in the eye with a sharp glint and clutched her hand on the handle of her sword.
“Didn’t expect you here, Eraser” – Dream spoke up, her voice was definitely feminine but robotic, hiding her age –”It’s not your usual patrol route”
“Doesn’t matter. Hand over your weapons and hands behind your back” – tired man shot back apathetically
Shota saw a small smirk appear on Lucid's face – suddenly out of the Dream’s utility belt a small item dropped onto the ground with a noise – Aizawa cursed as he saw what the thing was. A smoke bomb, which trigger was pulled the moment Lucid turned around and started running away with his partner.
Aizawa doubled back as the cloud of thick, gray gray smoke surrounded him and began coughing. He pulled his capture scarf closer to lower jaw and leapt forward, searching for Vigilantes but they had already vanished. Things began to repeat themselves in the similar manner – Lucid and Dream would appear, Shota would attempt to capture them but before doing so, the duo would use some kind of gadget to get away.
***
Izumi was sitting in a tent made out of pillows and blankets – Hayato or rather Shouto, packed his belongings from the Hideout which was beginning to attract attention from the heroes, therefore law and moved to her attic. He didn’t have much, it was quite an effort to find a suitable camp bed for his size and many many more blankets.
But together they made it work and already 4 months have passed since Shouto moved to her place. He explained his reasons for faking his death and judging by what media wrote in the articles along with Endeavor’s public statements, nobody suspected a thing.
Shouto brought her a bowl of warm miso ramen and for himself and began eating in silence. It reminded Izumi of one particularly cold winter night – they were hiding in the ruins of Osaka from one of AFO’s agents in an abandoned day room of a destroyed private clinic. Hayato managed to build something akin to a campfire and they ate a warm meal for the first time in days.
“Remember Osaka?” – Midoriya asked while eating
“Oh, yeah. After the dinner, we had to sleep together curled up in a futon so we wouldn’t freeze to death” – Todoroki recounted with a small smile
Izumi blushed, flustered but smiled back. Shouto laughed warmly and his grin grew wider, his bowl already empty.
In Osaka they acted as a distraction from AFO when the Resistance was regrouping from the rescue operation. Since they were so much of a thorn in the bastard’s side, Leader assumed that he wouldn’t miss the occasion to kill them.
“You think Bruce survived?” – Shouto muttered
Izumi finished her portion of soup with a sigh and placed it on the floor with a loud clank, her plastic chopsticks inside.
“I want to believe that but knowing his tendencies, he would rather sacrifice himself for the cause than to run and hide” – Izumi said with a grimace –”So, no I don’t he survived the bastard”
“I wonder what Yoichi would think of this” – Todoroki uttered
Izumi raised her eyebrow and looked him in the eye.
“You mean by “this” the Resistance’s fall?” – Izumi asked on which the boy next to her nodded
“Eh, I don’t doubt he would blame himself due to his guilt and self – esteem issues” – Midoriya stated –”We joined the Resistance around the same time and though we both outlived him and the Leader, Yoichi would think that his rescue from the vault was the reason for the Resistance’s fall, since AFO desperately wanted him back”
“Yeah and then that sick fucker killed Yoichi, then the Leader” – Shouto hissed with anger, his hands clenched into fists that shook with fury –”He’ll pay for what he has done”.
“He will. We will make sure of that”.
***
Eraser wanted to slam his face onto the table – he was sitting with Detective Tsukauchi in the common room with two separate white boards – one for Lucid and another for Dream. Naomasa sipped his coffee tiredly and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. His eye bags were getting more and more visible each day, his hair disheveled due to sleeping more often on his desk.
They tried to come up with more leads that could reveal Vigilante's respective identities but they made no progress. It was getting worrisome since suddenly the Hero Commission was breathing down their necks – and finally in two days, Hawks would be dispatched to arrest the pair. Eraserhead didn’t want to have them detained by HPSC since it would be equivalent with court trial and long jail time. There was a good reason that not many powerful individuals had the power to mess with the Hero Commission, much with the Madam President herself.
Aizawa sighed and looked over the counter – during one of the apprehension attempts, Lucid accidentally dropped one walkie – talkie when taking out a flash bomb out of his utility belt. Tsukauchi believed it could be a lead to track down their location but this brought no actual results.
Shota stood up from his chair and walked down to the coffee machine – he pressed the button and stared as the robot was making him his holy drink. Then he heard a sudden noise – Tsukauchi flinched out of his half – asleep haze and his eyes drifted towards the lost walkie – talkie.
“Hello, Eraserhead and Detective Tsukauchi” – a male young hoarse voice spoke up
“Lucid?” – Aizawa ascertained
“In person. Actually me and Dream thought long and hard about using the tool we gave you” – the Vigilante talked back –”Though if you both wanted to slow down the Commission, you were too late”
Silence befell upon the room, only the walkie talkie noises and ticking of the clock were heard.
“What happened to Hawks?” – Naomasa cut the chase with a sharp voice
“Got his ass kicked, that’s what happened. And by the way, Dream’s here” – feminine voice chimed in
Aizawa gulped a handful of saliva and frowned, quickly pushing down the initial shock he felt.
“Why did you contact us?”
“Well, Hawks told us after the fight that you both tried to get HPSC off our asses. Though you didn't have to, you still went ahead for pretty much strangers” – Lucid stated with an edge to his voice –”Why? Why did you both risk so much for our sakes?”
The detective placed both of his hands on the table and sighed deeply, exhaustion showing itself but his eyes were worried.
“Because it was a right thing to do”
Aizawa could feel the pair’s surprise even though they stayed mostly silent.
“I see. Well, I have a proposal to make” – Dream responded hoarsely –”A collaboration, you can say. We give you information for free but we’re in this, all four of us together – we’re deeply connected to the Underground’s business, meaning that we get key intel much faster. In exchange, Eraserhead will stop pursuing us”
Aizawa tapped his fingers against the wooden counter, deeply in thought. Dream’s offer wasn’t stupid, in fact it was quite beneficial for both sides – heroes would get confirmed intel from the Underground for free. In exchange, the Vigilante Duo would gain full independence and freedom in choices without being worried that Shota is on their tail. He wasn’t too worried about them going darkside, after all, ever since they both debuted before their cooperation, Lucid and Dream leaned heavily towards the heroic side of vigilantism.
Shota glanced at Tsukauchi, his eyes closed as the detective was thinking thoroughly and then he surprisingly gave a rare smile though a tired one. He gestured towards the exhausted pro hero who gave a slow nod of approval.
“Let’s call this a deal. However if you both start going down the road of Stendhal, me and Eraserhead won’t hesitate to try to bring you both to justice” – detective said sharply
“Alright. We’ll contact you via this walkie talkie with intel”
“Fine but do this after midnight when I’m mostly on my own or with Eraserhead” – Naomasa warned the duo –”Neither of us wants the Hero Commission breathing down our necks”.
“Sure. And if you meet Hawks, please pass onto this message: Every dog can break free from their master, only if they have courage and strength to do so. With that being said, good night and till next time” – Lucid spoke at the end and then ended the call with a suspicious Eraserhead and confused Tsukauchi
Shota didn’t expect to meet Hawks around 2 hours later at the police station with a broken nose and bruised left wrist. As it turned out the duo expected Hawks to try to arrest them and so they prepared a trap for the pro hero – at first he chased them, not knowing what he was walking himself into. Then Lucid stunned him with a chemical bomb and Dream trapped him which resulted in a broken nose, as Hawks tried to fight the trap. According to the man, the duo is very much aware of HPSC actions and they’re prepared to take them out if they threaten to kill both Lucid and Dream.
When Hawks was leaving, according to the baseball wielding Vigilante wishes, Aizawa passed on the message. Eraserhead noticed how the other pro hero visibly paled and froze in place for a few seconds before covering up his emotions with a laid back mask.
***
Izumi was sitting on the edge of the roof, her fingers roaming the warm handle of her shining katana. She was never suicidal, in fact she just loved sitting on the roofs – the expanse of the sky above and wind in her hair, reminded her of pure freedom.
That’s why she fought, as Noriko, so hard against the government and All for One, isn’t it? Midoriya already knew the answer, though she still asked herself that question over and over. Maybe because greenette wondered if the answer would change, but no matter what it always remained the same.
Izumi felt her battle instincts flare up in a split second – in a moment her sword was already in her hand, aiming at the target behind her. Midoriya glanced, her expression not showing any distinct emotions – yellow goggles, black jumpsuit and characteristic capture scarf. The Vigilante’s eyes squinted, her body tensing up for a fight.
“I’m not here to chase or fight you, Dream” – the pro hero rushed in with an explanation
“So what do you want, Eraserhead?” – the girl still didn’t let her guard down
“I’m here to ask you some questions, nothing else. Then, I’ll be gone” – the man revealed gruffly
Dream hummed in approval and stood up from the edge of the roof. Her sword was still unsheathed but the blade was not directed towards the black haired man anymore.
“What’s up with the message from Lucid to Hawks?” – Aizawa began trying to hide his curiosity in his voice
“Neither me or Lucid know the entire picture but we know enough to make a couple of accurate guesses. My advice is watch HPSC actions very carefully, especially their undercover agents operations” – Dream huffed, her contempt towards the Commission showing itself –”Nedzu is also a pain in their ass. If you want more clues, ask him”.
Shota frowned but he pushed down his emotions sideways.
“Why did you both become Vigilantes? I can see that the two of you did already a lot of good, you would make great pro heroes”
“Neither me nor Lucid want to do anything with the government that actively reinforces quirkism behind the scenes and strengthens the discriminations within the society” – Izumi said firmly –”Those are my reasons, Lucid has more personal motivations. But that’s not all – we’re coming for a particular cockroach, a very strong one that should have died years ago”.
Eraserhead remained unfazed on the outside but on the inside his brain was going into overdrive trying to figure out who Dream was talking about.
“Word of advice – do not interfere within our affairs. And keep the intel about HPSC, if you find out, to yourself. The Commission keeps tabs on their dirty laundry, Nedzu knows that himself”
With that the female Vigilante seemingly vanished in a blink of an eye and Aizawa was standing on the roof alone.
***
Hawks was sitting on a plastic stool, his eyes firmly on the greenette’s face as she was treating his wounds. The white haired boy with a medical eyepatch was holding a first aid medkit in one hand and in the other a bottle of water.
During his nighttime mission he got injured in a fight with a villain that wielded a powerful fire Quirk – just in time Dream and Lucid joined in and were able to defeat the criminal but the man got away. When the Dream was attempting to help him, his movements were rather uncontrollable and accidentally knocked out her mask before falling unconscious – despite that, Hawks clearly saw and remembered her face.
“We should’ve left you, y’know that?” – Lucid asked with a strained smile –”Your knowledge of our real looks poses threat to us”
Keigo repressed a flinch when Dream was bandaging his right arm above the elbow – thankfully none of the wings were damaged beyond repair but his arm and torso suffered a lot of bad burns.
“Look, I got my ass kicked the last time we fought. I was perfectly content without us crossing the roads ever again and I didn’t mean to knock out Dream’s mask” – Takami tried to defend himself –”Besides you’re…you’re kids”
“We’re not monsters, have a bit of empathy” – Dream scolded Lucid, not listening to Hawks last sentence –”Our time as soldiers that required to make tough choices is over”
Keigo paled a bit, his head was filled with different contradicting thoughts – Dream and Lucid were soldiers? As in child soldiers, kids that were mostly fighting in the place of adults in war that adults caused to happen? But they were clearly Japanese, so in what war would they supposedly fight in? Takami shook his head and focused himself on more pressing matters.
“I promised both of you that I wouldn’t tell a soul your looks” – Hawks chimed in –”Sure, not for free but it’s a good deal”
“You’re Hero Commission’s lapdog, how can we be so sure that you won’t rat us out?” – Lucid pressed on relentlessly
What?
“We know about the Paragon thing, everything detailing your so – called training. You’re their new pet raised under their care, in place of Lady Nagant after doing what she did” – the boy spat out with a venomous smirk –”I don’t know what’s going inside your head so…tell me, why shouldn't we get rid of you?”
Takami wanted to vomit his guts out right here and there – the kids knew about his treatment? No, no, no…the HPSC will kill them for that knowledge…they will right? And Keigo is going to be stuck as their personal killing machine until he finally kicks the bucket.
“I saw that look in your eyes” – Dream suddenly spoke out –”You desire freedom, like a bird out of a cage, don’t you? You want to break free from the chains that bind you. But the only person that can free you from their shackles is yourself, Hawks”
Keigo was staring wide open at the freckled greenette – he wanted to laugh out the absurdity. A child giving advice to a grown ass man – shouldn’t it work the other way around? But the pro hero felt her words touch – and it hit hard, more than he wanted to admit.
“Decide, Hawks – will you break free from the HPSC grip, therefore live? Or shall we take you out right now? Though we would be wasting our resources but saving up plenty of trouble” – Lucid cut the chase gruffly but his intimidating grin did not falter, his hand already on Dream’s katana
“Lucid, we’re not barbarians, we don’t kill innocent” – the girl hissed, her demeanour immediately shifted –”We’re not at war anymore”.
“He’s not innocent, Hawks assassinated multiple people on the HPSC orders – villains, vigilantes or civilians alike” – the boy told back, his smile becoming more and more strained –”His status as a Number 3 Pro Hero does not wash up blood from his hands”
“He wasn’t aware of he was doing for fuck sake. HPSC told him a bunch of lies which he was forced to believe in, otherwise he would be mentally tortured” – Dream said with sorrow and anger –”And I know that his ignorance is no excuse but give him a chance. People can change, remember Hiroshi”
Lucid froze, his smile immediately dropped and his eyes haunted but they weren’t as sharp – there was warmth in there.
Silence befell upon the cramped room as the girl finished wrapping Keigo up and cleaning up his burns.
“So what’s your call, Hawks?” – Dream asked quietly
“I..I want to be free…but I cannot escape from their grip alone” – Takami replied –”If…If…I’m going to do this…will you two help me?”
Unexpectedly Lucid immediately nodded, followed by Dream’s hum of approval – her eyes were fixated on Keigo’s face, as if she wanted to see if he was lying. But Hawks knew the truth, he wanted to hear those words, he wanted to be free and soar high.
“We will give our everything, if you don’t trust us, you can kill us on spot if it turns out that we’re lying to you” – Lucid said calmly
“T-There’s no need to go that far” – Takami insisted –”How are you going to contact me?”
“Go to Tsukauchi and Eraserhead, and say that you want to borrow The walkie talkie” – Dream explained –”It’s modified so that it works on insane distances and the signal cannot be tracked down. Also we have few contacts and we will cook up a plan to get you away from the Hero Commission”.
“However, you must know one thing. Once you will run away from HPSC, you will also throw away your status as the pro hero. In other words, you won't be able to save people, at least not legally. You’re going to have to keep a low profile for the time being once the runaway plan succeeds” – Lucid reminded him on which Hawks nodded firmly
“I cannot believe that I’m planning such a big thing with literal children” – Keigo huffed with a bit of shame and embarrassment
“We’re not children, Hawks” – the Vigilante duo said in unison, dead serious
“Now go before those shitheads start to suspect something” – Lucid spoke up on which the winged pro hero complied and promptly left the pair’s hideout.
The duo stood alone, Izumi gave Shouto a glare.
“Was it really necessary to threaten him with death?” – Midoriya breathed –”It could be done more delicately”
“We couldn’t afford more soft measures” – Shouto huffed in reply –”It was either that or allowing Hawks to continue being HPSC's favourite killing machine. By the way, your acting was on spot”
“Rather yours, I wasn’t acting” – Midoriya revealed with a sigh –”I guess your soldier side is still very much alive”
“It never truly died, after all, we’re coming for All for One, the worst supervillain in existence” – Todoroki said –”It couldn’t die or be killed in any way”